{"id":8471,"date":"2023-07-05T10:05:45","date_gmt":"2023-07-05T02:05:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/?p=8471"},"modified":"2023-07-05T10:05:47","modified_gmt":"2023-07-05T02:05:47","slug":"inside-makatis-immersive-book-club","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/inside-makatis-immersive-book-club\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside Makati\u2019s immersive book club"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

With the hustle and bustle filling the avenues of Makati, it\u2019s not wrong to assume that the city is a concrete corporate jungle. From high-rise buildings to industrialized stores, Makati is built on corporate ladders and elevator pitches. But explore a bit more and to the east side you\u2019ll find Poblacion, a lively and hip contrast to what\u2019s otherwise a commercial work mill for many. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the fun and drinks happen at night, The\nAstbury\u2013a third space for creative human experiences stands in one of Poblacion\u2019s\nnooks and crannies. There, an intimate and immersive book club called \u201cThe\nWrite Side of Bookshelf\u201d gathered to converse and breathe new ideas on how to\nbe a Filipino author and the future of Philippine literature last June 20. This\nsession called \u201cThe Journey of a Filipino Writer\u201d was led by author and\nlongtime writer Pancho Dizon, and is just the first of many book club sessions\nto inject creativity and build a new community at the heart of the Metro.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The gap\nin representation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps the most compelling issue in modern\nPhilippine literature is still the gap in representation. Although the country\nhas a range of literary works, there\u2019s still a need for more representation and\ndepth in the books local publishers churn out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Bookshelf PH, a digital publishing house\nborn at the height of the pandemic, the gap was found in the lack of books that\npaint the Philippine business landscape and sharing local stories of business\nleaders. This need was only amplified when people started searching for side hustles\nand business ventures to cope at that time. Thus, Bookshelf PH started\npublishing business books like The 50, which featured 50 HR leaders around the\ncountry to share their experiences working in different industries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cInterviewing these leaders over Zoom calls\nwas a great opportunity for writers like myself to dig deeper into stories\noften overlooked,\u201d Dizon said. \u201cYou\u2019d be surprised how easy it is to talk to\nthese leaders by simply asking them over an email or messaging them on social\nmedia.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another issue in representation is found in\nmany Filipino readers\u2019 patronage of Western literary works over local books,\nespecially for teens and young adults. Fantasy, sci-fi and other young adult\nWestern novels with fandoms and following tend to take center stage in many\nlocal bookstores and online reading platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen you see the youth reading more Western\nliterature, it actually signals a need for more Filipino representation and\nlocal books that can narrate stories as grappling as theirs. We have no shortage\nof inspiring stories, but we really have to search for them and dig deeper.\u201d,\nDizon explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nbest language for local content<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it comes to language, the Philippines has\nalmost 200 different dialects. Filipino readers and authors alike would often\npostulate on which language should be used in writing modern Filipino\nliterature. One would argue that the rising use of English in many Filipino\nliterary pieces snatches away the Filipino-ness of these works and dilutes the\nessence of using our Filipino language to enrich our literature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But for Monette Quiogue, founder and managing\npartner of Bookshelf PH, language is simply a tool to use in conveying what\ntruly creates the Filipino-ness in a literary work\u2013the message. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI believe that the message we communicate to\nour readers is the essence of Philippine literature,\u201d Quiogue explained.\n\u201cLanguage should never be a barrier in enriching local literary works. But\nchoosing which language to use, whether that\u2019s English, Filipino or Ilocano,\nmatters most depending on which audience you\u2019d like to get your message\nacross.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bookshelf PH\u2019s wide collection of books are\nmostly written in English. From business books painting the Philippine business\nlandscape to women\u2019s books narrating stories of prominent Filipina figures, the\npreference for English over Filipino in writing these modern books have a much\ndeeper purpose behind it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe choose to write most of our books in\nEnglish simply because we want to share our local content to a global audience.\nFrom the outside looking in, we want other cultures and nationalities to\nappreciate Philippine literature and reach a wider audience to inspire and\nshare our local stories with,\u201d Quiogue added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\ndeeper purpose for writing local stories<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After writing so many articles and books, one\nwould ask what\u2019s the deeper purpose to continue honing their craft in\nstorytelling. For Dizon, his passion for writing stems from the people he has\nencountered and worked with in his story developments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fearless Filipinas 2, an anthology featuring\n24 inspiring Filipinas who made a big impact in their fields, was an avenue for\nDizon to create a spotlight for the Philippine women\u2019s football team. By\ninterviewing and featuring international footballer Cam Rodriguez in the book,\nDizon had the opportunity to sit on the bleachers of Rizal Memorial Stadium to\nwatch the team win the AFF Championships last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMoments like the women\u2019s football team\nwinning the championship inspire me to write stories that are often found on\nthe sidelines,\u201d Dizon said. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of work to be done, but telling our\nown stories lets us take control of the narrative and for once, put a spotlight\non us Filipinos.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Join the next literary movement, intimate\nconversations, and creative exchange at the Astbury on July 12, Wednesday, 6-8\npm featuring The Write Side of Bookshelf\u2019s latest guest speaker Merlee Jayme,\nauthor of Chairmom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To reserve a spot and learn more about this\ncreative get-together and future events, sign up here<\/a> \u2013 limited slots only!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Perhaps the most compelling issue in modern Philippine literature is still the gap in representation. Although the country has a range of literary works, there\u2019s still a need for more representation and depth in the books local publishers churn out.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":8472,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,4],"tags":[2460,2356],"class_list":["post-8471","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-destinations","category-newsmakers","tag-books","tag-media-literacy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8471","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8471"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8471\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8473,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8471\/revisions\/8473"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8472"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8471"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8471"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8471"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}